Michael Patrick King reveals the actor that auditioned for 10 different characters before landing an iconic role!

Summary

---

Are You A Charlotte? – June 3, 2026

Episode: Michael Patrick King reveals the actor that auditioned for 10 different characters before landing an iconic role!

---

Episode Overview

This lively episode of “Are You A Charlotte?” welcomes back Michael Patrick King, showrunner, writer, and director of “Sex and the City.” Host Kristin Davis (Charlotte York herself) continues her deep, funny, and insightful exploration with King, focusing on how the groundbreaking series was crafted, the evolution of Charlotte’s character, memorable behind-the-scenes stories, and the collaborative magic that shaped one of television’s most beloved ensembles. Along the way, King reveals how David Eigenberg auditioned for multiple roles before landing the iconic part of Steve. The discussion ranges from dissecting particular setpieces and comedic beats to reflecting on the portrayal of female friendships and the wider impact of women-centric storytelling in Hollywood.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of Charlotte & Character Authenticity

• Charlotte’s growth from the “boxed” persona: Kristin and Michael reflect on pacing Charlotte’s emotional journey, especially around moments of heartbreak and friendship. Michael stresses the importance of believable character progression so the audience never feels left behind.
  • “You have to believe the situation. You can never lose gravity. You can’t suddenly go someplace where the audience goes, wait, did I miss an episode?” – Michael Patrick King [03:33]
• Comedy rooted in love, not just sex: The show’s staying power is attributed to its deep focus on friendship and love between the women, making the flawed, comic sexual moments feel deeply human and relatable.
  • “Why do people still watch it? It’s because of the love, not the sex. It’s the love of these women for each other. And the sex is fantastic because it’s humiliating.” – Michael Patrick King [05:10]
• Discussion on iconic emotional scenes: They reminisce about foundational friendship moments, like Carrie supporting Miranda at her mother’s funeral and the quiet nobility embedded in the women’s everyday interactions.

---

2. The Writer’s Room: Structure, Diversity, and Female Energy

• Diverse and dynamic team: Michael Patrick King describes the Sex and the City writer’s room as a “big ass room of people with a lot of feelings, a lot of opinions, a lot of female information and a lot of humiliation”—fueling authentic, lived-in storytelling.
  • “All we did was just mine. What happened? …A lot of the stories were mining female friendships as they age.” – Michael Patrick King [07:53, 08:28]
• On selecting writers: Authentic voice and energy are his top criteria for hiring.
  • “To me, it’s a voice… it doesn’t feel like writing, it feels like life… When I look at scripts, I look for the one thing, and it can be one completely original sentence.” – Michael Patrick King [10:11]
• Building a long-lasting creative group: Maintaining friendships among writers is rare, and King sees the SATC writers’ camaraderie as a key to sustained success.
  • “It’s very hard to maintain a group. You’ll fall in love with one person and they’ll stay in your life. But a group moving along was a testament…” – Michael Patrick King [09:37]

---

3. Crafting Storylines: Inspiration and Room Debate

• Season development and “side trips”: King begins each season with a strong sense of character journeys, but welcomes creative “side trips” in the room. He offers the example of bringing Aidan back, which initially met with resistance.
  • “Some writers in the room…did Not want to see Aiden again...I said, okay, give me reasons Aiden shouldn’t come back…And I said, what if he comes back hard as a rock and ripped and they were like, what? Oh, wait a minute.” – Michael Patrick King [12:48–13:13]
• David Eigenberg’s path to Steve:
  • “David Eigenberg came in and auditioned for ten men before Steve, and he was never the thing. And I kept thinking, who’s that realistic guy?...so not an actor. And then we thought, well, Steve the bartender…we wrote it for him.” – Michael Patrick King [40:10]

---

4. On-Set Rituals & Challenges of Comedy

• Actor rituals & vulnerability: King shares a memorable story where he barged into the women’s trailer on set, only to realize the sacred preparation space required respect.
  • “I closed the door, and I never pounded on a makeup door since…That’s a ritual. That’s definitely church…” – Michael Patrick King [19:33–20:23]
• The fine line of comedy and tragedy: Discussion about acting technique, the balance between comedic and serious stakes, and how being present ultimately resulted in the most enjoyable, truthful scenes.
  • “That’s how you make comedy work is like to internally raise the stakes. But that’s a fine line…” – Kristin Davis [21:40]

---

5. Behind the Scenes: Iconic Bits & Bloopers

• Reshooting for tone: Kristin shares about an early episode having to reshoot a scene because the stakes were played too intensely.
  • “Darren was like, ‘You don’t care.’ [He meant] there’s a guy around the corner...He knew the show he wanted to do, which was basically a guy a week, a guy an episode.” – Kristin Davis [22:24]
• Physical comedy & eating scenes:
  • “Everybody was fake eating or real eating. In Cynthia’s case. Like a motherfucker…It was really choreography.” – Michael Patrick King [25:53–26:09]
• Miranda’s cake story & comedy excess: King tells an elaborate story about an over-the-top deleted scene where Miranda eats cake off the floor, and how restraint was needed.
  • “…I saw the footage, and it was full indie film…Requiem for a Dream…She had chocolate on her face…It was good if I’m committing Miranda to a mental institution the next day.” – Michael Patrick King [28:10–30:10]
• Comic vomiting gone wild: Tales about attempting epic “vomit gags” with Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker, tube malfunctions, and improv heroics. Sarah Jessica Parker ends up inventing a realistic vomit technique “with no effects.”
  • “She did it herself without…no effects…And I was like, I don’t know how she did that.” – Michael Patrick King [33:01]

---

6. Character Arcs & “What Could Have Been”

• Trey and Bunny: Planned vs. Evolved: Originally, Trey was meant to be boring, but evolved into “the man child,” driven in part by Kyle MacLachlan’s quirky take and Frances Sternhagen’s performance as Bunny.
  • “Kyle was so much more than boring. He is a little weird, though…He’s a mama’s boy. That’s different than being boring.” – Michael Patrick King [40:10]
• Charlotte’s heroics & nervousness: They reflect on the emotional challenges of Charlotte standing up for herself, with both nerve and authenticity.
• Samantha’s journey with Maria: The decision for Samantha to have a same-sex relationship was all about expanding the character’s sexual openness and subverting expectations.
  • “…the real reason we did it is to put a spotlight on the fact that Samantha has intimacy issues. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman.” – Michael Patrick King [43:24]

---

7. The Industry, Representation, and Women’s Stories

• Challenges for women in Hollywood:
  • “Every time a woman’s movie does well, they open the door for another one or two movies… and then they forget totally that they did well.” – Michael Patrick King [46:18]
• The business case for female-driven content: Kristin and Michael underscore the buying power and interest of women audiences, referencing changing demographics in home buying and viewership.
  • “There’s more single women over 40 buying houses than any other group or something crazy. So exciting those people can buy movie tickets. Hello.” – Kristin Davis [48:05]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You have to believe the situation. You can never lose gravity.” – Michael Patrick King [03:33]
• “It’s because of the love, not the sex. It’s the love of these women for each other.” – Michael Patrick King [05:10]
• “All we did was just mine. What happened? What happened on the weekend? What happened?” – Michael Patrick King [07:53]
• “It’s very hard to maintain a group… But a group moving along was a testament to the camaraderie of that room.” – Michael Patrick King [09:37]
• “I just want to be present. I’m going to have, of course, all my underlying look.” – Kristin Davis [24:03]
• “David Eigenberg came in and auditioned for ten men before Steve...” – Michael Patrick King [40:10]
• “Every time a woman’s movie does well…then they forget…Like it’s an outlier.” – Michael Patrick King [46:32]
• “She did it herself without…no effects...And I was like, I don’t know how she did that.” – Michael Patrick King (on SJP's realistic vomit gag) [33:01]

---

Important Timestamps

• 03:15 – 05:51: Deep dive into narrative pacing, character emotion, and what anchors the show’s authenticity.
• 07:22 – 09:55: Writer’s room composition, female energy and camaraderie, and how stories were sourced from real-life friendships.
• 10:11 – 11:41: How Michael Patrick King hired and evaluated writers; what makes a script “alive.”
• 12:48 – 15:00: Internal show debates: the Aiden comeback; transformative moments where creative push-pull leads to classic arcs.
• 19:31 – 20:23: On-set rituals and why respecting actor prep space is essential.
• 22:03 – 25:03: Reshooting for tonal reasons, acting challenges, and comedic chemistry.
• 28:10 – 30:10: The infamous unused “Cakegate” scene with Miranda and over-the-top direction.
• 32:09 – 33:39: The comic vomiting chronicles, SJP’s improvisational genius.
• 40:10 – 41:44: David Eigenberg’s journey to Steve; how characters evolved from early plans.
• 43:22 – 44:39: Samantha’s arc with Maria and how it explored the character’s true intimacy issues.
• 46:18 – 48:39: Industry reflections; the recurring amnesia of Hollywood toward successful women-led projects.

---

Episode Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation maintains the witty, candid, and insider-friendly tone characteristic of Sex and the City itself—rich with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, affection for ensemble and crew, mutual respect, and a non-judgmental view of both character and creative risk. Kristin and Michael’s banter toggles smoothly between comic memories and insightful professional musings, illuminating just how much love, trial-and-error, and sheer guts went into making Sex and the City legendary.

---

Summary

This episode is a goldmine for fans and writers interested in how “Sex and the City” balanced comedy with authenticity and centered enduring female relationships while breaking boundaries. Michael Patrick King’s stories—especially about actors, wild behind-the-scenes moments, and room debates—offer a nuanced look at how TV magic happens, when the right people, voices, and a willingness to push boundaries come together. The episode closes with an optimistic but pointed reflection on the ongoing hurdles and opportunities for women’s stories in entertainment, leaving listeners excited for even more tales in the promised part three.

---

Transcript

[Kristen Davis]

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human hey listeners, Aleve has a question for you. Do you remember what it felt like when your body pain didn't take over your day? You'd twist a lid, type a text or bend your elbow without even thinking about it. Well, that feeling didn't go anywhere thanks to Aleve. With just one dose, Aleve targets pain at the source of inflammation for up to 12 hours of body pain relief. Because when your pain fades, something else comes back. You feel the relief. Feel Aleve use as directed for minor aches and pains. Taking care of yourself means taking care of your eyes too. And that gritty, irritated feeling could be dry eye. Mibo, AKA Perfluorohexalactane Ophthalmic Solution is the only prescription dry eye drop that directly targets the number one cause of dry eye too much tear evaporation. Ask your eye doctor how you can treat dry eye differently with Meibo. Oh yeah, don't use if allergic to Mibo. Remove contacts before using and wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. Eye redness and blurred vision may occur. For info, call 1-800-553-5340 or visit miebo.com

[Ryan Seacrest]

hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway for you. Save days are here now through June 23rd. Find hot deals throughout the store and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Chobani, Vitamin Water, Jelly Belly, Nutella, Haagen, Dazs, Nestle and Outshine. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy pickup or delivery, restrictions apply. See the website for full terms and conditions.

[Kristen Davis]

Based on the best selling novel from Carly Fortune, the new prime original series Every Year after follows Sam and Percy across six summers as they take a second chance at a love that never really let go. It's the kind of story that brings you back to a summer crush you never fully got over, or a friendship that almost turned into something more with slow burn, tension, lakeside nostalgia, and that lingering what if it's the kind of show people say they couldn't stop watching and were a little emotionally destroyed by. In the Best Watch every year after streaming June 10th only on Prime. Hi, I'm Kristen Davis and I want to know are you a Charlotte? Hi everyone. Welcome back to Are youe a Charlotte? We are here today with Part two with Michael Patrick King. Always a good time. Thanks for joining us when you were writing. So I'm going to connect it all to Charlotte. So what I see when I watch the scene with Cynthia especially is like, Charlotte and Kristen are kind of dealing with the evolution of Charlotte in terms of getting out of some of the boxed elements of her. Right. Like, you know, she's always trying so hard and she's peppy and she's whatever, blah, blah, blah. And now we're really. We're really stretching. Right?

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah, she's heartbroken.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah, she's heartbroken. And also. But she's still gonna try, Right. But then she doesn't know how. Like, you know, so it's like you can't just deviate. Right. And we're gonna get to the point where I'm laying on my couch and Carrie comes. And that's such a beautiful. Right. Like, you're so. You're like building block by building block, building block.

[Michael Patrick King]

You have to believe the situation. You can never. You can never lose gravity. You can't suddenly go someplace where the audience goes, wait, did I miss an episode?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

It all has to be a little bit ahead, but just a little bit ahead where they are. If it's too far ahead, they don't understand. Start to see, oh, she's covering. Oh, she's covering. Oh, that's going to be hard. And then you see the nobility of her coming at the end and choosing friendship.

[Kristen Davis]

Exactly. And that's what we were talking about. I don't remember that scene at all. Which is interesting, because I was worried about the other scene, but I don't think I was worried about that scene. But you can tell. I could tell when I come in the door that I've already been crying. Right. So that was interesting. I don't think it was a choice. Right. I think it's probably just whatever take or whatever and me having all, like, at that point, there's. It's pent up, you know, and then. And I couldn't remember what I was gonna say. Which I love. Right. Not in the scene when I was watching. I love that. That you don't know.

[Michael Patrick King]

Also, we want. Didn't want the audience to know. Right.

[Kristen Davis]

It works so good.

[Michael Patrick King]

It was like, oh, they're all acting. Samantha's giving her tea.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

The way Samantha gave Carrie breakfast.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

In the movie when she was devastated. There's like a weird nurse that shows up in Samantha very rarely when something emotionally devastating.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes. Which is great because you don't see

[Michael Patrick King]

it coming because she barely doesn't even say anything.

[Kristen Davis]

Totally. She's great. Well, it's also like in my motherboard myself, which I had remembered the general storyline, but I didn't remember the payoff. Right. So good. Yeah. So, so good.

[Michael Patrick King]

So the thing that people used to say is, why is the show so? Why do people still watch it? It's because of the love, not the sex. It's the love of these women for each other. And the sex is fantastic because it's humiliating. Everybody relates to it. And it's comic. And it's human.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes, it's human. And there's not judgment and survivors. Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

But it's really the moments where, you know, Miranda jumps out of the aisle at her. When Carrie jumps out of the aisle at Miranda's mother's funeral because she has no one to walk with or when Miranda respects what Charlotte says.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then still holds that space for her as they say.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

Walking down the street in New York amongst everybody else, not even aware that they're having this crisis. And it's the moment of, you know, the comedy of Carrie in the bathroom with Aiden saying, did you tell him? And Sarah Jessica is so comic in that scene doing all that. Like, it's pure candy for her. Like, I know.

[Kristen Davis]

She's so animated.

[Michael Patrick King]

Hand gestures and like.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

Like, she's not even. She's like. Like a little rock on a pond. Not even saying the line. She just perfectly needed.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

A different way to add something to the same.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

Abortion storyline.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. And incredible. Incredible. It's incredible. Okay, let's go back to beautiful.

[Michael Patrick King]

And the clothes.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, now you see it like Carrie walking in. In that kilt with the mail.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, I'd forgotten about that.

[Michael Patrick King]

100. It's everywhere. 100% right now.

[Kristen Davis]

We should have gotten that outfit out. You have to show Sarah outfits to jog her memory.

[Michael Patrick King]

That is so completely.

[Kristen Davis]

It's incredible.

[Michael Patrick King]

Edgy, chic, current.

[Kristen Davis]

Yep. So I know it, I know it. I mean, they were just. All of it is.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. It's delicious.

[Kristen Davis]

Delicious.

[Michael Patrick King]

Which is why you're re watching them and talking about.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. Definitely. But also because I think. And to go back to like when you. Okay, so at this point, we've got Jenny, we've got Cindy. Darren is.

[Michael Patrick King]

Oh, this is full room.

[Kristen Davis]

Right? Is Darren gone?

[Michael Patrick King]

Gone.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

Season two gone.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it, got it, got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

I thought sober was a shirt is a. Is a complete rockstar. Female room. Ellen Heinberg's there as well.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've got to find Alan.

[Michael Patrick King]

Ellen Heimberg's there. It's a very strong.

[Kristen Davis]

Amy B. Harris.

[Michael Patrick King]

Amy B. Harris. Julie Elise. A. Liz.

[Kristen Davis]

Liz is coming.

[Michael Patrick King]

Liz may be there.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

Cindy, Jenny and me. It was a big ass room of people with a lot of feelings, a lot of opinions, a lot of female information and a lot of humiliation. Comedy humiliation for all of us. All we did was just mine. What happened? What happened?

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

What happened on the weekend? What happened? And no one was pregnant, but everybody was still feeling. It's hard to be friends with people all the time.

[Kristen Davis]

You mean like the people who are pregnant and are now like in a different world?

[Michael Patrick King]

A lot of the stories were mining female friendships as they age.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it. That's true.

[Michael Patrick King]

You know, like when you fall apart, when you come back together, what's legitimate, you know, we've done many, many stories where the women fall. Fell apart. At one point in the movie, after Miranda held the secret that she told Big to not get married, she sent Carrie yellow flower, yellow roses. And saying, you have to forgive me.

[Kristen Davis]

I don't even remember that.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah, it's the friendship flower. Yellow rose is the flower for friendship.

[Kristen Davis]

I didn't know that. Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

So Miranda sends her this big arrangement because she won't return her calls.

[Kristen Davis]

Ooh.

[Michael Patrick King]

So it was always about realizing that these female relationships that you have are relationships, their past friendships. Totally the relationships that loves of your life, as we said with Big in the finale.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

They're the. You're the loves of her life.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

So all those women had friends and some of. And then within the room, we have interactions and we're still friends.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes. Thank God.

[Michael Patrick King]

We're still friends.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

That is the strongest continuing friendships of writers. Of all the rooms I've been in that group, it's very hard to maintain a group. You'll fall in love with one person and they'll stay in your life. But a group moving along was a testament to the camaraderie of that room.

[Kristen Davis]

And I think it's a testament to you choosing them. And could we talk a little bit about that? Because you're really the maestro at this point. And Julia and Elisa had never written a script before. Motherboard, which is insane. How did that happen? How did you find people? How did you choose people, bring them along?

[Michael Patrick King]

Well, it comes from their writing. First of all, you read something that they wrote, and to me, it's a voice. It's a one thought. It doesn't feel like writing. It feels like life. And Juliana, Lisa wrote a script, a spec script. I don't even think it was our show, but I immediately Knew they have a voice that I haven't. It doesn't feel like it's written. It feels like it's alive. Everybody on the page has something. When I look at scripts that other writers are wanting me to do, I'm like, I look for the one thing, and it can be one completely original sentence. And I go, oh, I've never heard anybody write that.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

That's what you look for.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then that's first. And then you meet them, and it's all about the energy. And it's like, do. Do I feel funnier across from them? Do I feel smarter across from them? Do I feel like more myself across from them?

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

That's important because that means that you're going, there's something there that you want to entertain, which will bring up the better part of you in the room.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then there's the. Are they humans?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Are they safe?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Are they comfortable? Are they humble? Are they group? Right.

[Kristen Davis]

Because that's important.

[Michael Patrick King]

So important.

[Kristen Davis]

So then when you're in. In the writer's room, because anytime any of our writers come on, it's like, there's so much that obviously I didn't ask you at the time. Right. And I love to hear about it. So you would have people come to LA prevalent before the season, like in between the seasons. Tell us a little bit about that process.

[Michael Patrick King]

There's a pre room where you sort of plow up the field and you sort of get all the dirt going. And what did you think over the hiatus? What did you think? What could it be? What could it be? And I always came in with the map. A very strong impulse to start and a very strong impulse to close.

[Kristen Davis]

So you already envisioned.

[Michael Patrick King]

I already imagined a journey.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

Of each of the characters.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then the side trips or where everybody else is like, what if we do that? What if we do that? What if we do that? What if we do that? What if we do that? What if we do that? But when we were in Atlantic City doing the Atlantic City episode, they still talk about the fact that in the middle of that season, I put them in a hotel room with me and I said, here's season. The next season four. Boom. Here's the next season.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

And they're like, ugh. So sometimes it comes to you, wow. And then it's a trial.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's a jury room. Do you like it?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, I'll give you a perfect example. I've said this before. Some writers in the room. Julie Rotenberg did Not want to see Aiden again.

[Kristen Davis]

What?

[Michael Patrick King]

When Aiden left, she was like, do

[Kristen Davis]

you mean the first time?

[Michael Patrick King]

Goodbye.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

After the wedding and they didn't get married. After Charlotte got married and Aiden went his way, I felt very strongly that Carrie and Aiden was strong. John Corbett and Sarah Jessica were amazing together. So I came to the thing. I think Aiden comes back. And Julie protecting our integrity of not repeating and not trying to duplicate something was like, absolutely not. What? And everybody was like, what? And then somebody else had a couple things. I agree with that. And I said, okay, give me reasons Aiden shouldn't come back. And they quoted Samantha, that whole crunchy granola thing, that turquoise Julie crunchy granola thing. And I was like, oh, you're using our own words against us. So I was like, oh, okay, so you don't want to see that, Aiden, I raise you that. And I go, you1 better. I acknowledge that and go, you1 better. What if he comes back different so that we can maintain our. Not the same thing? I said, what if he comes back hard as a rock and ripped and they're like. And with his hair cut. And they were like, what? Oh, wait a minute. And then I went to John Corbett and I took him to lunch at Jones. And we were eating. He was eating fried chicken, and he's eating fried chicken with mashed potatoes. And we were in a booth and I said, hey, John, we want to bring you back. He said, oh, that's. That's cool, that's cool. I said, but you gotta come back. Worked out, ripped with short hair. And he goes, I knew I was a fatty. And he rolled over on his side. I knew that was a fatty.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh my God, that's so.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then I was like, deal? And he says, yep.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow, I love that you made those men work out. Love that. Hey, listeners, Alev has a question for you. Do you remember what it felt like when joint pain didn't take over your day? Like twisting a lid, typing a text, or bending your elbow just happened. You'd walk across the room without thinking about your knees or reach for something without checking in with your shoulder. Imagine that. No pause, no wince, no quiet little. Here we go. Well, that feeling didn't go anywhere. That right there is Aleve pain Relief. Aleve targets body pain at the source of inflammation for long lasting relief. So you can feel like your knees are just your knees again. Feel like bending down isn't scary. And a standing room only concert actually sounds like a good time. Feel that. Still feeling good. Hours later, feeling with up to 12 hours of body pain relief because when your pain fades, something else comes back. You feel the relief. Feel aleve. Use this directed for minor aches and pains. Look, if we're talking self care face masks and spa days, those are non negotiables. But you know what else shouldn't be overlooked? Your eyes. If dry eye is leaving them feeling scratchy, gritty or irritated, it could be time to try something different. To be open minded. You know, consider asking your eye doctor about Mibo, that perfluorohexalactane ophthalmic solution. It's the only prescription dry eye drop that directly targets too much tear evaporation, the number one cause of dry eye. Why wait? Take care of yourself and ask your eye doctor about treating dry eye differently with Maibo. Oh yeah, don't use if allergic to Mibo. Remove contacts before using and wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. Eye redness and blurred vision may occur. For more info on Mibo, call 1-800-553-5340 or visit miebo.com I turned off news altogether.

[Michael Patrick King]

I hate to say it, but I

[Kristen Davis]

don't trust much of anything.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's the rage bait.

[Kristen Davis]

It feels like it's trying to divide people. We got clear facts. Maybe we can calm down a little.

[Michael Patrick King]

NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts.

[Kristen Davis]

Let's move forward from there.

[Michael Patrick King]

NBC News reporting for America.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway for you. Save days are here now through June 23rd. Find hot deals throughout the store and earn four times a point. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Chobani, Vitamin Water, Jelly Belly, Nutella, Haagen, Dazs, Nestle and Altshine. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings. When you shop in store or online for easy pickup or delivery, restrictions apply. See the website for full terms and conditions.

[Michael Patrick King]

People sometimes say to me like actors, actresses and I go are you kidding me? They have to show up at 5am and they click on a neon bright light in front of a makeup mirror at 5am and they have to sit there, take it. And then the journey to getting in front of the camera and it's so hard to relax and open up in front of a camera. And I remember one time when we were doing the episode where they go to the Playboy mansion in the LA episode let's discuss it was the scene where they're Supposed to drive up in the blue convertible in front of the fountain. And the sun was hitting the fountain, and you were nowhere to be seen. None of you. And I was like, the sun's leaving. The sun is leaving. And they were like, well, they're not here. And I was like, the sun's leaving.

[Kristen Davis]

We were, like, off somewhere down a

[Michael Patrick King]

hill off the Playboy Mansion in a trailer, right? And I was like, I'm losing the sun. And I got in a golf cart with my hair on fire. Went. Went down across the speed bumps through Playboy Mansion gate. Boom. Parked the car and knocked. And I open the door to, like, say, let's go. And the four of you were in the chair, and there was some sort of cool music playing from the 90s or 70s or whatever. And you all just literally looked at me like this. Oh, no, don't bring that in here. And I closed the door, and I never pounded on a makeup door since.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[Michael Patrick King]

Because I was like, oh, that's a thing.

[Kristen Davis]

It is a thing.

[Michael Patrick King]

That's a ritual. That's definitely church. Definitely energy that has nothing to do. And eventually you got the message and you all showed up, and we got the shot, and the sun was hitting the water, and you were all adorable, but it was like, it's a lot to get ready to be on camera.

[Kristen Davis]

It is a lot. It is a lot. It is a lot. You're absolutely right. It was a delicate. It was a delicate thing in the trailer. You know what I mean? And we also had the whole hair and makeup team, right? By that point, everybody had two big exact.

[Michael Patrick King]

But, you know, and it's just. It's a delicate thing to be. To go back to coulda, woulda, shoulda. To be at the end of that block. Know that there's 20 extras. Frankel says, Action. And, you know, 25ft from now, you have to cry.

[Kristen Davis]

It's true. It's true. It is an actor's really hard thing to do. But I will say this, generally speaking, and this, again, is just growth, right? You know, I'd been in acting class forever, you know, previous to this, right? Like, forever. And I don't know if you remember,

[Michael Patrick King]

long time to be in acting class.

[Kristen Davis]

I mean, I was in acting class since I was, like, 10 years old, right? Till, like, even after college, then I went to college. It was a lot of acting class. And acting class can kind of mess you up in a way, right? Because it's not exactly the same, you know? You know what I'm saying?

[Michael Patrick King]

It's a surprise.

[Kristen Davis]

It's different when you get on set, definitely. But they also talk about raising the stakes. Raising the stakes. Raising the stakes all the time, which I do think is important for comedy. That's how you make comedy work is like to internally raise the stakes. The stakes. Right. But that's a fine line to walk also. And early on, before you came, I don't think you were there because I don't remember your face there. Darren made me reshoot something. Did. Did I ever tell you this?

[Michael Patrick King]

I think I know this story. But it was the pilot, right?

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah. No, not the pilot. I want to say like the first or second episode directed by that woman, that lanky independent film woman, Allison McLean. I believe I feel I could be wrong. I think it was up the butt situation where I have to tell the guy that I don't want to do it, you know, after the cab ride.

[Michael Patrick King]

And I wrote. So I find it very hard to believe I wouldn't have been in the room.

[Kristen Davis]

But let me tell you what Darren said to me, because I don't remember your face in this event because I

[Michael Patrick King]

was not involved in the right, I think, interaction.

[Kristen Davis]

So basically I had to reshoot it. One of the only things I ever remember having to reshoot because I cried and Darren was like, you don't care. And I was like, what? What? And he goes, you know, there's a guy around the corner. And I'm like, there is like, you know me, right? Like, I'm just like, you're speaking Mandarin to me. I don't know what you're saying, like, what he's like. Cause he knew the show that he wanted to do, right? Which was gonna be like, basically a guy, a week, a guy, an episode. Because I was like, when I go to confess to the guy that I want nice sheets and whatever, and I don't wanna be the. Up the guy. Whatever.

[Michael Patrick King]

Up the guy up.

[Kristen Davis]

Exactly.

[Michael Patrick King]

That's too far. That's.

[Kristen Davis]

Any of it is too.

[Michael Patrick King]

No one can write that. That's just not funny. That's dangerous.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. That's how I perceive, obviously. So. And then I had to reshoot because he's told me, you were too upset. You were too upset. And I was like, okay. So I had to go back and reshoot. That's what acting class will do to you, right? It's like everything is the. To have the deep, deep stakes. You know what I mean?

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah.

[Kristen Davis]

So then when I. But then I think I had relaxed all of that, right? Because, like, being on a show, especially our show, which you have, you know, so many scenes, like coffee shop scenes and this scene and that scene and so many different types of scenes. Where. And tell me what you think. I think that one of the reasons. Like one of the. Obviously coffee shop scenes, very hard to film very long. But when you watch them, so enjoyable. Right. Because everyone is so present. And that became to me, like, I just want to be present. I'm going to have, of course, all of my underlying look.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's all. It's all up the butt with season two. Or was it season one?

[Kristen Davis]

I think it's season one.

[Michael Patrick King]

It was episode five or something.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, okay. Maybe it wasn't that then.

[Michael Patrick King]

Season one, Episode four.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

Okay. So everybody's.

[Kristen Davis]

It might not have been that much.

[Michael Patrick King]

Everybody's like, what is this? Totally, you know, like. And the tone of anything when you get to the set, you're like, oh, I saw it a different way. I've been so many. Surprised. I've been surprised. My whole journey has been going from no to. To. I don't know, like, just. You see something and it's not how you saw it.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

You thought it was going to go and you react rather than eventually you start to go, oh, that's. Is that better? That's better. How can it be both?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

So it's. But it's all new. It's all. It's all seventh graders putting on a show at the beginning. So everybody's just not knowing what it's supposed to be.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

But by the time we got to the coffee shop scenes. And also, I will say the coffee shop scenes were the Rockettes. You knew exactly what you were supposed to do. They were rat a tat tat, tat, tat, tat, tat. 5, 6, 7, 8. Whereas a scene telling a man that you don't want to be Mrs. Up the butt.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Is a weird.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

Collab of comedy. Totally tragedy. Yes.

[Kristen Davis]

Well put.

[Michael Patrick King]

So that's more open to. Am I failing?

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Do we have it right? Is it done right?

[Kristen Davis]

Right. Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

But the coffee shops. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Datings and I'm exhausted. Where is he?

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

Everybody was fake eating or real eating. In Cynthia's case. Like a motherfucker.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

Hitting their mouth, nailing it. Because of the coverage. Everybody had to be concise. It was really choreography.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

And it was usually a feast of ideas. Stuff where everybody had a different point of view and you knew who you were playing.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

Very clear what was supposed to be happening.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah, definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

The coffee shop scene in this one Very interesting departures. Charlotte's left the coffee shop scene twice. This time she gets up and leaves mad. And when Carrie's. When she's. When Samantha's talking about funky Spunk, she gets up and leaves disgusted. Like, that's. And Miranda says, and she's never coming back. That was a comedy one. This one is a painful one. She cannot be there. And she lowers the boom.

[Kristen Davis]

Right, right, right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Let a residence in the room that we then cashed in on the whole rest of the episode.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely, definitely, definitely. Do you remember when you had Cynthia eat and get stuff in her teeth?

[Michael Patrick King]

Oh, the olive tamponade. When she had the braces.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

And she was like, that.

[Kristen Davis]

Was that just so much fun for you?

[Michael Patrick King]

So much fun.

[Kristen Davis]

She was so into it. I remember being so concerned, like, that's too much.

[Michael Patrick King]

I would be like, look at Cynthia.

[Kristen Davis]

I know. She goes, right. No fear.

[Michael Patrick King]

There is. I don't know if I've ever told you this story.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, I can't wait.

[Michael Patrick King]

There is an. The episode where she makes the cake, okay? And she wants to have a cake. And she goes to a Payard, and the cakes are like $47. And she's like, bullshit. And Miranda goes and gets a Duncan Hines cake, and she makes a sheet cake. Cause she wants to have that cake. She wants to reward herself with a cake. And the episode was, she can't stop eating the cake. She keeps eating the one where it

[Kristen Davis]

goes into the trash.

[Michael Patrick King]

Into the trash.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, it's so good.

[Michael Patrick King]

And she calls Carrie and says after she. This was a Judy Toll, God rest her sweet, talented soul story of she couldn't stop eating things. So she threw the cake in the thing. And that wasn't even enough. She knew she'd take it out of the garbage. So she puts Palmolive dishwashing liquid all. All over it so she won't pick it out of the garbage.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

And Miranda says, I'm calling you. This is your friend Miranda. I'm calling you from the Betty Crocker home instead of the Betty Ford.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

But. But I didn't direct it. Alan Coulter directed. And he was an independent filmmaker. And he was a. I would say a hotshot cowboy. He had a lot of ideas and themes and things, and he was magical and funny and he wore a pork pie hat. And he was into it. And one of the few nights I wasn't on set and it was very late and they were shooting the scene where Miranda just keeps cutting the cake smaller and smaller and smaller, but he saw I've Committed myself to the Betty Crocker Clinic. And he ran with it so that he had Cynthia, in a stylized moment, eat the cake, smear it all over her face, slide across the floor, put chocolate fingers up and down the walls. And I saw the footage, and it was full indie film. It was Requiem for a Dream. It was everything expressionistic. It was. I think it was an. The phrase big swing.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

And I was like. And Cynthia was. She had chocolate on her face, and she was. Her fingers were going down the wall, and she was in the corner in the camera. He had the handheld camera coming up. And she was like. She was possessed. And I saw it and I was like. Like, what happened? What is this? And he goes, she went crazy. And I go, but she can't go crazy. She's a character on our show. And it's one of the few things. And he said, but isn't it great? I said, it's great for something else. Go there.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's supposed to be a relatable on an evening, taking a piece of cake, opening the refrigerator. So I mean, we had to reshoot the whole thing.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my gosh.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah, we reshoot the whole thing. And Cynthia came in. She had. She was about. She was in her pajamas in the character. And she came in. She walked by me and she said, wasn't good. And I said, no, it was good if I'm committing Miranda to a mental institution the next day. She goes, no, it was fun.

[Kristen Davis]

I'm sure she did love it.

[Michael Patrick King]

Run, run, run, run, run with it. And so, of course, just tone everything. Yeah.

[Kristen Davis]

She wants everything you give her. Which reminds me, we did talk to the lovely man that she vomited on. Fake vomited. That we had to cut.

[Michael Patrick King]

We cut it.

[Kristen Davis]

Tell us about it.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, it was rough. It was the idea Marina gets so drunk that when she stop having sex with this hot guy, she's all.

[Kristen Davis]

The cop. The detective.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. She's all up in her. And literally, she's so drunk that she vomits down on him. And we had a. And I've always wanted to do it. We never pulled it off a giant hose. Because I always imagined, as a comic director, the idea of incredible amount of vomit. A comic amount.

[Kristen Davis]

Did we not do it on them just like that.

[Michael Patrick King]

Come on, I'll tell you that.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

And it always has to have a brr. And we had this tube on Cynthia and she did it, but the tube kept going. And then it was like, well, this doesn't is too much.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

So then I tried it again. On in. Just like that. When Sarah Jessica's. Where Carrie goes on with John Tenney.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

And we had the thing on on her and it was like just. You could see it and it wasn't working. And then she said, I don't want to put that. The guy from special effects wasn't good. He was fired after that.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, no.

[Michael Patrick King]

There's a guy who came on. Vomit expert.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, dear.

[Michael Patrick King]

Wasn't.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my.

[Michael Patrick King]

And so we got rid of him. But Sarah Jessica said, watch. And we had a giant 2 liter thing of Dinty Moore.

[Kristen Davis]

That's what the bottom is. I understand. The soup. Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

She chugged it.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then she, like some animal made it come out. No. Kept a second chamber.

[Kristen Davis]

What?

[Michael Patrick King]

And did it again.

[Kristen Davis]

No.

[Michael Patrick King]

And I was like, I don't know how she did that.

[Kristen Davis]

I don't either.

[Michael Patrick King]

It was real.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

She did it herself without.

[Kristen Davis]

We're gonna have to discuss this with her next time.

[Michael Patrick King]

Never speak of it. And as a matter of fact, I should not be speaking of it.

[Kristen Davis]

Really. But I think that's impressive.

[Michael Patrick King]

It was so impressive as a. This isn't working. She always knows when this is working.

[Kristen Davis]

She will do what she's working.

[Michael Patrick King]

She knows when something is working.

[Kristen Davis]

She does. Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

She's like, this isn't working. Forget that. Give me the thing. The thing. And I was like, boom, boom. And the thing you see in the show is purely her no effects.

[Kristen Davis]

I thought it looked fantastic. I didn't know the details.

[Michael Patrick King]

She somehow went full and then somehow retained some and went full again because it was too.

[Kristen Davis]

That's insane.

[Michael Patrick King]

The comedy was. I'm fine. She throws up. I'm fine. She throws up again.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

She did it.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then Tenney saw her doing. He was like, all right, give me some. And then he was like. He was doing it too. Yeah.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God. And that was like in the wee hours, at some point in the morning. Yeah. I was not there, but I was. I was like. That's like a callback.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. That was. That was rough. People lost their jobs and she saved the day.

[Kristen Davis]

Wow. Amazing. Amazing. And I never heard the story. Thank you for telling us that story.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, she's amazing.

[Kristen Davis]

She is amazing. But did you feel that you had achieved your. Your. Your funny comic vomiting?

[Michael Patrick King]

I never did it the way and the only people. I finally saw it done.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

On the Righteous Gemstones.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

They had a scene where they found out that their father was probably not going to live, but he did. And before the four Siblings were out in front of the hospital and they did it perfectly.

[Kristen Davis]

No way.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then another one. But it was.

[Kristen Davis]

We need to find that vomit expert.

[Michael Patrick King]

So farcical. And it was. Belonged on their show.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Not on our show.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it. Got it. Well, that was a different show to

[Michael Patrick King]

do that anymore because I saw somebody.

[Kristen Davis]

You're okay. Okay, Good, good. So seeing it made you feel happy?

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. There's one thing if. As long as we're airing all the

[Kristen Davis]

dirty, let's air it.

[Michael Patrick King]

There was one bit I never got into the show, which was a hard on Rue boxer shorts.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay.

[Michael Patrick King]

Because the scene where Charlotte surprises Trey

[Kristen Davis]

drunk and he gets hard before they get married. Yeah, yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

The thing that makes her think, oh, this will happen. Or after they get married, when they were separated. I don't remember.

[Kristen Davis]

I think it's when they're separated.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah, yeah. She goes over and she goes.

[Kristen Davis]

After I go out with the girls, and then I go to their house.

[Michael Patrick King]

And Kyle came to the set. And I said, here's this. And he had Ralph Lauren boxers. And I said, I want a giant tent of.

[Kristen Davis]

I vaguely remember this.

[Michael Patrick King]

And he was like, I'm not. I can't do that. Then I'll have nothing. I can't do that. What does that mean?

[Kristen Davis]

What did he mean, I'll have nothing?

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, poor Kyle. Kyle, he showed up to be Prince Charming. And I told him on the day he's completely impotent, which is why he took the job. Cause he thought, well, that's better than being just handsome.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

But he thought that was too far. And I was like, God damn it, it's funny. And I let go of it until I saw 40 year old virgin.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, no boxers in hard on.

[Michael Patrick King]

Biggest laugh in the movie.

[Kristen Davis]

You know what's funny, though, is when I was watching it, and this is the interesting thing about rewatching all this time later, I did have a memory of. There's something being weird about watching that scene. I was like, there's something weird about this because also, we're supposed to kind of have sex standing up. Ish. Really? We come in as this sudden thing. Right. Because that's his thing.

[Michael Patrick King]

Like, I mean, it was ra. You reached below frame, but there was nothing to reach to.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

Like, it was on CBS suddenly.

[Kristen Davis]

Totally. Yes. And I did think that. I was like, that's. Why do we do that? Yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

Kyle was such a great sport. It was just for one morning. It was a very early shoot.

[Kristen Davis]

It's like, no, got it. Got it got it. Hey listeners, Alif has a question for you. Do you remember what it felt like when joint pain didn't take over your day? Like twisting a lid, typing a text or bending your elbow just happened. You'd walk across the room without thinking about your knees or reach for something without checking in with your shoulder. Imagine that. No pause, no wince, no quiet little Here we go. Well, that feeling didn't go anywhere. That right there is Aleve pain relief. Aleve targets body pain at the source of inflammation for long lasting relief. So you can feel like your knees are just your knees again. Feel like bending down isn't scary. And a standing room only concert actually sounds like a good time. Feel that? Still feeling good hours later feeling with up to 12 hours of body pain relief. Because when your pain fades, something else comes back. You feel the relief feel Aleve use this directed for minor aches and pains. Look, if we're talking self care, face masks and spa days, those are non negotiables. But you know what else shouldn't be overlooked? Your eyes. If dry eye is leaving them feeling scratchy, gritty or irritated, it could be time to try something different. To be open minded, you know, consider asking your eye doctor about Mibo. That's perfluorohexalactane ophthalmic solution. It's the only prescription dry eye drop that directly targets too much tear evaporation, the number one cause of dry eye. Why wait? Take care of yourself and ask your eye doctor about treating dry eye differently with Meibo. Oh yeah, don't use if allergic to Mibo. Remove contacts before using and wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. Eye redness and blurred vision may occur. For more info on MyBo, call 1-800-553-5340 or visit miebo.com I turned off news altogether.

[Michael Patrick King]

I hate to say it, but I

[Kristen Davis]

don't trust much of anything.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people.

[Kristen Davis]

We got clear facts. Maybe we can calm down a little.

[Michael Patrick King]

NBC News brings you clear reporting. Let's meet at the Facts.

[Kristen Davis]

Let's move forward from there.

[Michael Patrick King]

NBC News reporting for America.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway for you. Save days are here now through June 23rd. Find hot deals throughout the store and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Chobani, Vitamin Water, Jelly Belly, Nutella, Haagen, Dazs, Nestle and Altshine. Then clip the offer in the App for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more, enjoy savings on top of savings. When you shop in store or online for easy pickup or delivery, restrictions apply. See the website for full terms and conditions.

[Kristen Davis]

Question I have about that. I remember, tell me if I'm wrong that he was only supposed to be on, like, five in the beginning episodes.

[Michael Patrick King]

Got it. I don't have any awareness of that.

[Kristen Davis]

Okay. Did you think. Because it was all supposed to be the way you described it to me, at least at first, was that, you know, Charlotte's got this goal, right? She's like, hell, Ben, we're gonna get the goal. But remember how he was supposed to be boring? Like when we're on the boat with Big and Carrie? Carrie's. They're not together. Big's on the boat. We're on the.

[Michael Patrick King]

Well, that's the thing we were talking about before is, like, what's really happening here? And Kyle is far from boring. There's nothing boring about him.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

So then it probably just became more and more and more and more and more. I mean, David Eigenberg came in and auditioned for 10 men before Steve, and he was never the thing. And I kept thinking, who's that realistic guy?

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

What can we do with him?

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah.

[Michael Patrick King]

So not an actor.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then we thought, well, Steve the bartender, and just David came in and read it, but we wrote it for him. And Kyle was so much more than boring. He is a little weird, though, with. All righty, then. He's a mama's boy. That's different than being boring.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely.

[Michael Patrick King]

But no, I mean, the more. The more we got into the gold mine, then it became about the. Who's rubbing the Vicks on his chest.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's just all that was funny.

[Kristen Davis]

So sad and so sad and twisted.

[Michael Patrick King]

Franny, God rest her soul.

[Kristen Davis]

Oh, my God. So incredible.

[Michael Patrick King]

Franny became so real and Kyle was so real, and Charlotte was so real at that point.

[Kristen Davis]

But did you have the idea from the get go of the mother of Franny being Bunny being. Okay, so that was part of.

[Michael Patrick King]

We had the part of the mother.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

The man child.

[Kristen Davis]

Right. Okay. So he was supposed to be a man child.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. I mean. And the dueling Chanels.

[Kristen Davis]

The dueling. Oh, me and Bunny. Got it. Got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

You know. Yeah. We knew that she would be that Upper east side doyenne and that Charlotte would be an Upper east side. Not a doyen.

[Kristen Davis]

Got it. But, like, you know, how it played out. And then I have to say what I'm worth and everything which we're not. Yeah. We're not worth a million. Yeah. Did you see. Did you have all that planned or

[Michael Patrick King]

did it just by the time we were filming it? Yeah, but it becomes evolved. It all evolves off of, wow, Kristen is. Let's just do more of that.

[Kristen Davis]

Let's keep going there.

[Michael Patrick King]

It just keeps becoming more and more interesting. And we believed Charlotte was a real person. So when you believe someone's a real person, then you have a permission to tell real stories with her. And, I mean, the heroics of her sticking up for herself and saying.

[Kristen Davis]

I mean, incredible. I remember also being very nervous about that.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah, fantastic.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah. I mean, because Charlotte was also very nervous. Like, who's ever been in that? Like, oh, it's so hard. Question also just about character arcs and things. How did it come about that you decided to have Samantha have the relationship with Marie?

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah.

[Kristen Davis]

You know her. When she decided to try to be

[Michael Patrick King]

a lesbian because it was about sexual expression. Samantha's character was about being an adventurer and. And having no judgment about sex at all. And so all of a sudden, the Maria character would have to be somebody who had a vibration. And Samantha followed vibration. She could almost sense sex in the room. So she was like, all right. I mean, it just became a color. And also, it was probably something that would. It was first of all ahead of the curve. But it was also something that Samantha would probably allow herself to experience. But of course, the whole thing was like. So she could say to the three of you ladies, I'm a lesbian. It was all for the reaction of you. And then. And the real reason we did it is to put a spotlight on the fact that Samantha has intimacy issues. And it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman.

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. Well, that was the funniest part, was like, you know, poor Maria trying to talk to her.

[Michael Patrick King]

Oh, yeah. Trying to make her, like a lesbian. Right.

[Kristen Davis]

Cause they like to talk. You gotta talk.

[Michael Patrick King]

No, no, no. It's too much. So, you know, we wanted to underline the male part of Samantha. That people always thought she was kind of alpha. She was like, ugh. These ladies and their conversations. It's always about turning over the stereotype. Like, if we thought we were talking about men as bad, then we wanted to make Samantha be like, what they complain about men. You know, like, it's all about, what else can we do? That's funny.

[Kristen Davis]

Right. Which I love.

[Michael Patrick King]

And then you get somebody like Sonia Braga and she's like, well, that's believable.

[Kristen Davis]

Totally.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, but that's where Cassie.

[Kristen Davis]

How did you get her?

[Michael Patrick King]

We were a very good show at that point.

[Kristen Davis]

Right. Got it, got it, got it.

[Michael Patrick King]

We were kind of a show for. Sure.

[Kristen Davis]

We were a show. I mean, if you ask any of these actors that I've had on who are in New York at the time, we were that from the first season, which is so funny because I don't remember that. You know what I mean?

[Michael Patrick King]

But by that you mean a show in New York.

[Kristen Davis]

Exactly, exactly. That wasn't long ago. A television show in New York. A television show, Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Very big shot.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes, yes, yes. That's the other funny thing to remember. And you just reminded me of something. I had Chris Albrecht on. On Zoom. It was really fun. It was really fun. It was good.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, brave. He was a brave man.

[Kristen Davis]

He really was.

[Michael Patrick King]

Kept saying, it's hilarious. Forget it.

[Kristen Davis]

I know.

[Michael Patrick King]

Just do your thing.

[Kristen Davis]

I know.

[Michael Patrick King]

No notes.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

Great.

[Kristen Davis]

And one thing that.

[Michael Patrick King]

What a great champion for us.

[Kristen Davis]

I know it.

[Michael Patrick King]

And for the ideas.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes. And in general, not just for us, for the Soprano, for, like, there were so many things that were happening. Larry Sanders before us, like, you know what I'm saying? There were so many things. But one of the things that we talked briefly about, and I wanted to get your opinion on it because, of course, it's interesting to hear from his perspective, because I was having my own perspective, and I'm sure you were having yours in the end. You know we're about to have the Devil Wears Prada too. Right. Directed by David Frankel from our show. And Devil Wears Pride of One in Chris's mind, because I asked him something about, like, how, you know, the whole gestation of the Sex and City film and, you know, the ups and the downs. I know. And how did it happen in your mind or whatever. And he said that when the Devil Wears Part of One came out, he was like, oh, that's our film. And I was like, oh, really? He said, that's when I was like, oh, yeah, we've got to figure that out. I was like, okay. It's so interesting and random over there in that world, the executive world, to do.

[Michael Patrick King]

Did Devil's Wear product come out before us?

[Kristen Davis]

Apparently. I mean, in Chris Albrecht's mind. Can anyone check? I didn't.

[Michael Patrick King]

I don't.

[Kristen Davis]

I find that 2007, then. Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

Six, four.

[Kristen Davis]

No, that's when the show ended. Our movie came out in 2008.

[Michael Patrick King]

Really?

[Kristen Davis]

I believe so.

[Michael Patrick King]

Interesting.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah. Can anyone check? Pretty sure, yeah. Weird, right?

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah.

[Kristen Davis]

I mean, for us, emotionally, it's. It's all.

[Michael Patrick King]

Well, you know, I mean, I. I don't know about that. I do know that every time a woman's movie does well.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

They open the door for another one or two movies to come in, and then they forget totally that they did well. Right.

[Kristen Davis]

And then they're shocked.

[Michael Patrick King]

It's very convenient to forget that the budget was blank and it made blank.

[Kristen Davis]

Yes.

[Michael Patrick King]

They forget all of that. Like it's an outlier. Oh, that's probably right. Delaware's Prada made money. And then they thought, well, what else can make money? They wear clothes.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

But then it's up to us to make even have that moment television show that became a movie that did a big thing. And then they forget again.

[Kristen Davis]

Right?

[Michael Patrick King]

They're still forgetting to this day. They're still forgetting. I'm sure Prada will do really well. And then they'll be like, oh, all right. What else? What do we got?

[Kristen Davis]

Definitely. I hope someone's ready with something.

[Michael Patrick King]

I mean, they. It's really interesting how they conveniently forget there's a female audience.

[Kristen Davis]

How does it happen? It's insane and infuriating. And also now the joy is, as Jenny was telling us, the older female audience has the buying power. Like, she had a detail about house buying. Because you remember that episode where Miranda's buying her apartment that Jenny wrote. So brilliant. Right. And, you know, because I'm always by myself buying things, it still happens. You know, you have to just like, it's. You're just like, there's only one person who's going to sign this. Like, it's me. It's just me. You know, it's very weird for people, but we talked about that, and she said that. I believe she said that there's more single women over 40 or something like that buying houses than any other group or something crazy. So exciting those people can buy movie tickets. Hello.

[Michael Patrick King]

He did Rivalry.

[Kristen Davis]

Yeah, baby. He did Rivalry.

[Michael Patrick King]

You know, he did Rivalry. That came out of nowhere. And that's the other thing. They always are surprised when women movies do well because they. They have. They come out of nowhere.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

They're specific.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

And they're not. Whatever.

[Kristen Davis]

Also, Feig's movie housemate. Incredible.

[Michael Patrick King]

Yeah. Incredible. Amazing.

[Kristen Davis]

So good.

[Michael Patrick King]

Does not translate to let's do 10 more of movies with female characters.

[Kristen Davis]

Right. Damn it.

[Michael Patrick King]

Maybe it does. I'm not sure.

[Kristen Davis]

Maybe it's all going to get to do part two.

[Michael Patrick King]

Maybe all. Yeah, of course he is.

[Kristen Davis]

Right.

[Michael Patrick King]

But maybe it's a great movie and it's fun. It was a roller coaster to go see. And people laughing and the women are smart and great and flawed and perfect. But yes, but maybe it's all just the business is contracting. So it feels like. Or is it? I'm not sure.

[Kristen Davis]

I mean, technically it is, right? Like technically the business is contracting.

[Michael Patrick King]

That's the conventional wisdom.

[Kristen Davis]

I do think there's numbers to back that up, unfortunately. All right everyone, guess what? We have more Michael Patrick King. So listen for part three this week. You know, it's just too much fun when he's here, so I just talk to him about everything. And thank you guys for listening as always. Join us again for Are youe a Charlotte? Taking care of yourself means taking care of your eyes too. And that gritty, irritated feeling could be dry eye. Mibo, AKA Perfluorohexalactane Ophthalmic Solution is the only prescription dry eye drop that directly targets the number one cause of dry eye too much tear evaporation. Ask your eye doctor how you can treat dry eye differently with Mibo. Oh yeah, don't use if allergic to Mibo. Remove contacts before using and wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. Eye redness and blurred vision may occur. For info, call 1-800-553-5340 or visit miebo.com hey listeners, Aleve has a question for you. Do you remember what it felt like when back pain didn't take over your day? You'd bend, twist, sit, stand without even thinking about it. Well, that feeling didn't go anywhere thanks to Aleve. With just one dose, Aleve's long lasting back pain relief can get you back to moving the way you used to. Feel that still feeling good feeling hours later with up to 12 hours of back pain relief. Feel a leave use as directed for minor aches and pains.

[Michael Patrick King]

T Mobile has the best plan on the best network. Just ask Kevin Bacon Today, business happens virtually everywhere. That's why you need Super Mobile from T Mobile. The best Plan on the Best Network Letting you run your business from your phone like never before. In moments of high demand, T Mobile's network adapts to put your business connection first. Discover [e-mail] best business plan based on combination of advanced network performance, coverage layers and security features. Best Network Based on analysis by oogle of speed test intelligence data 182025 oogle trademarks use under license and reprinted with permission.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway for you. Save days are here now through June 23rd. Find hot deals throughout the store and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Chobani, Vitamin Water, Jelly Belly, Nutella, Haagen, Dazs, Nestle and Outshine. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Stack up those rewards to save even more. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy pickup or delivery, restrictions apply. See the website for full terms and conditions.

[Kristen Davis]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.